23 Local Philanthropic Organizations Participate in 2nd ‘UAE Foundations Assembly’ held in Dubai

Dubai – UAE, May 09, 2010: The 2nd ‘UAE Foundations Assembly’ organized as part of the ‘Arab Foundations Week’ was held today at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai.

It was co-hosted by Dubai Cares and Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy to identify opportunities, discuss challenges, and improve ties and promote synergy between local philanthropic organizations. Over 50 representatives from 23 UAE-based foundations participated in the Assembly.

Delivering the welcome address, and emphasizing the need to strengthen the coordination between philanthropic foundations in the UAE, Tariq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares said, “The philanthropic industry in the UAE has seen significant growth in the number of charitable and humanitarian programs, as well as performance over the past few years. The UAE Foundations Assembly 2010 was successful in achieving its objective of facilitating knowledge-sharing, exchange of ideas and experiences, and increasing awareness and transparency between local organizations, thus laying the foundation for future collaborative philanthropic initiatives.”

Peter Cleaves, CEO of Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy said, “Enhancing collaboration and encouraging joint initiatives within the UAE philanthropic industry are the primary objectives of the UAE Foundations Assembly 2010. Implementing programs in partnership and cooperation with other foundations that have common goals will help improve program effectiveness, and also increase the number of beneficiaries.”

Anas Bukhash, Country Project Manager of Dubai Cares and Natalia Tapies, Assistant Country Director of Care International – Yemen shared their experience of developing and implementing a joint program to improve the access to quality basic education particularly for girls in the Hajja Governorate of Yemen. Stephen McCormeck, Senior Advisor at Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy and Dr. Eman Gaad, Director of Disability Services at Community Development Authority, Government of Dubai shared their experience of working together with Manzil – Civil Society Organization of Sharjah and UAE University – Academic Institution in Abu Dhabi, in developing a collaborative strategy to prevent child maltreatment during a panel discussion on “Best Practices in Philanthropic Collaboration”.

The UAE Foundations Assembly comprised of individual presentations, panel discussions and focused break-out working sessions, as the UAE Foundations and philanthropic leaders developed better understanding of each other’s programs and priorities, developed greater overall understanding of the magnitude of philanthropic activities in UAE, and explored concrete possibilities for cooperation in 2010 and beyond, in areas of common interest such as education, social development, and arts and culture, among others.

Al Gurg added, “The participants were provided with an opportunity to discuss various possibilities of cooperation in areas of common interest during the year and in the future, which will not only improve the effectiveness of the various programs, but also contribute significantly towards the development of capabilities and programs of the non-profit sector in the UAE.”